As is nearly universally known, a yo-yo typically comprises a pair of disks joined by an axle at their centers and separated by a furrow thereby creating a flattened spool. A dual-strand string has a first end looped over the axle. The string extends from its first end within the furrow to a second end that is normally attached to a user's finger by a slipknot or the like.
In use, the string will be wound around the axle repeatedly and, therefore, upon itself within the furrow. With this, the yo-yo spool will be disposed immediately adjacent to the second end of the string and, thus, adjacent to the user's retaining finger. In a basic yo-yo cycle, the user will then cast the spool away from his or her hand thereby causing the string to unfurl and the spool to gain angular momentum. When the string is fully extended, the angular momentum of the spool will tend to cause it to continue spinning such that it will roll up the string to re-assume its original position adjacent to the user's hand where it is ready for another cycle. Of course, the skilled yo-yo player will be capable of performing a variety of additional and more complicated tricks.
For a limited number of such cycles, the yo-yo can be used without notable discomfort. However, as anyone who has used a yo-yo will be well aware, extended yo-yo use inevitably results in significant discomfort to the user. This discomfort results, for example, from the fact that a slipknot is commonly employed for surrounding the user's finger. With continued usage, the opening in the slipknot will tend to shrink thereby becoming increasingly tighter around the user's finger. Eventually, the shrinking opening will cut off circulation to the user's finger thereby forcing the user to cease play with the yo-yo to allow circulation to return to the finger and, possibly, to retie the knot. Another problem, which leads to substantially identical results, is that continued use of the yo-yo will cause the string to become twisted thereby further twisting and shrinking the loop around the user's finger.
To be complete, one should note that, even without any shrinking of the loop, the consistent pressure of the narrow string against the user's finger eventually causes discomfort and possible loss of circulation. A further problem exhibited by prior art devices is that the entire string, including its second end with the finger loop, can become wedged and tangled within the furrow between the disks. Dislodging the string from the furrow can be a time consuming and frustrating task that may demand ultimately a cutting and replacement of the yo-yo string.
Advantageously, a number of inventors have recognized these and further problems exhibited by the prior art and have attempted to provide workable solutions thereto. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,868, Smollar discloses a device for holding or controlling a yo-yo. The device essentially comprises a resilient, rubberized or plastic O-ring. The second end of the yo-yo string is connected to the O-ring such that the string can be passed through the O-ring to create a loop defined by the combination of the string and the O-ring. Under this arrangement, it is said, the loop will tighten about the user's finger during the downward portion of the yo-yo cycle but will loosen from around the users finger during the upward portion of the cycle thereby preventing loss of circulation and the like.
Unfortunately, the Smollar device and others with similar aims have left a number of problems as of yet unsolved. For example, even assuming that the Smollar device is successful in causing the noose-like pressure of the string/O-ring loop to be intermittent, the pressure exists nonetheless. With this, discomfort and lack of circulation can continue to afflict one hoping to play with a yo-yo for extended periods of time. Furthermore, as the skilled yo-yo player will appreciate, a number of yo-yo tricks (e.g., the "Around the World" trick) may require for their proper practice that the loop rotate about the user's finger. Disadvantageously, with Smollar's resilient ring forming a part of the loop, the ring inevitably would prevent the loop from freely rotating about a user's finger thereby leading to a number of potential problems. By way of example, the string can become wrapped and tangled about the user's finger thereby hindering or altogether preventing continued play with the yo-yo.
In light of the foregoing, it becomes clear that a device for holding and controlling a yo-yo or similar stringed device that provides a solution to one or more of the aforementioned deficiencies exhibited the prior art would be useful. It is clearer still that a device for controlling a yo-yo or other stringed device presenting a solution to each and every problem left by the prior art while providing a number of heretofore unrealized advantages would represent a marked advance in the art.